Juan Pierre: $45M/5

Insanity. $9M for Pierre is a stretch: he’s not a great defender, he hasn’t posted an OBP above .330 in two years, and he isn’t even a particularly high-percentage basestealer. As I mentioned earlier, Kenny Lofton had a better 2006. But, in this market, $9M a year for a leadoff hitter isn’t too crazy–Pierre might well be better than, say, Gary Matthews Jr.

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But…five years? It would certainly appear that Matthews is going to get the money he’s after. Dave Roberts’s agent probably just upped his demands, too. Even Lofton ought to get either a two-year deal or a rich one-year contract.